


This Isn't An Act

by frominsideacomputer



Category: Phan, Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - School, Confusion, F/M, M/M, New Kid!Phil, Sexuality, Theatre, Theatre Kid!Dan, There's some other characters, and i spelled that wrong, dan's a bit confused about his sexulaity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-02 09:43:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4055371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frominsideacomputer/pseuds/frominsideacomputer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new family moves in next door to Dan, and he begins to chat to the son (Phil) they have through their neighbouring windows. Then Dan gets to know him and and realises he might like him quite a bit</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Through The Glass

_For as long as he could remember, Dan Howell had been ‘a theatre kid’. He’d been performing on stage since he could walked and he loved every minute of it. From the first day of rehearsals when he’d be given a script to the final bow of the last performance, he loved it. Drama and theatre ran in his blood and he didn’t know what he’d do without it. Like with anything, it couldn’t be perfect all the time. Dan knew the stress that suffocated everyone before the first show. He knew the issues that could arise from the first rehearsal to the last performance. But it didn’t stop him._   
_He’d been in all his school productions, from playing tree two, to playing the main role in the production of Oliver. He was a member of the local theatre club and worked for their professional company, which would give him roles in their shows and agents had cast him in many other professional roles._   
_When he was on stage, he was alive and he loved being anyone he could. It took him away from the dull little world he lived in and into an exciting new world where all he could do was experience it for the duration of the show._

This month’s production was Alice in Wonderland, Dan was cast as the Mad Hatter and he was practising his lines whilst pacing his bedroom.   
“You mean you can’t take less. It’s very easy to take more than nothing.” He said aloud, trying to work out where the emphasis should have been. “Then she says ‘Nobody asked your opinion’ Well, who’s making personal remarks now. Oh fuck it,” He groaned and collapsed on his bed, script landing on his face. “It’s so shit.”   
“Didn’t sound that bad to me.” A voice said from outside.   
“Crap,” Dan had forgotten he’d left the window open and the new neighbours were moving in today. “Sorry you had to hear all of my crappy line learning.” He went over to the window and opened it fully.   
“I’ve heard worse,” The boy shrugged, smiling nervously. “I’m Phil.”   
“Dan. You know you’re going to have to put up with me learning my lines until either of us decide we want to move out. I think that’s what the old owners of that house did.” As Dan spoke, his eyes scanned over the boy in the window opposite. Dark, probably dyed, black hair flopped down into a long right side sweeping fringe which almost covered his splashing blue eyes. He was moderately cute, but Dan didn’t really know. He – as far as he thought – was straight.   
“Phil! Can you come and help me bring some of these boxes in?”   
“I better go, my mum’ll kill me if I don’t go and help.” Phil turned away and disappeared.   
Dan went back to learning his lines, a new found energy and boost from talking to Phil.

 _The next morning_  
Dan has just arrived at the theatre, most of his lines learnt and ready for the rehearsal. Sam, the Cheshire cat, and Lucy, Alice, were there when he arrived, and they were messing around with the spare costumes kept to the side of the stage.   
“And I, the police fairy banish you to the kingdom of alarm clocks!” Sam, wearing a policeman’s jacket and fairy wings, shouted at Lucy who consequently pretended to die and lay dead on the floor.   
“We’re so sophisticated,” Dan jumped up onto the stage, and pretended to be a witch flying around on the broom he grabbed. “And now I turn you, police fairy, into a frog!” He pointed a finger at Sam who immediately squatted and began croaking like a frog.

“Why did I cast such imbeciles?” Kat, their director called from the back as she walked in with the rest of the cast.   
“Because we’re the best you can afford!” Dan retorted, throwing the broom back stage.   
“And that’s the problem, you guys really are the best.” She sighed and joined them on stage. The rest of the cast formed a circle, and Dan, Lucy and Sam joined them. “First practise today, so I’m prepared for the pits. We’ll start with the first few scenes and go from there.”   
The cast dispersed and just before they began, Kat called “There’s a new tech guy coming at twelve, so he’ll be working with us. He’s around the same age as you guys, so be nice.”

They rehearsed solidly until lunch time, when there was a clear creativity flop and Kat called an hour’s rest.   
Dan, Lucy and Sam, who were the three ‘ring leaders’ of the group, would alternate who had to get lunch for the three of them each rehearsal. Today, it was Dan’s turn, actually now that he thought about it, it had seemed to have been Dan’s turn for the last couple of weeks.

He left with the instruction of a bagel for Sam and a wrap for Lucy. The theatre was in the centre of town, and the nearest shops were across the road. Whilst browsing the sandwich aisle in Tesco, Dan suddenly felt himself being crashed into by a frantic black-haired teen.   
“Oh god, I’m sorry.” The guy mumbled, but Dan had realised who it was.   
“Phil?”   
“How do y-oh Dan, hey.” Phil blushed, embarrassed for running into him.   
“Hey, are you alright, you seem a little flustered?” Dan handed Phil the bottle of Coke he’d dropped.   
“I’m running late for something, and I don’t really know where I’m supposed to be going.” He said quickly, the words coming out of his mouth like a train at full speed.   
“Hey, hey,” Dan put his hands on Phil’s shoulders, finally getting the chance to look at him properly. Dan had to admit he was cute, especially all flustered like this, he was like a little puppy chasing him tail. “I’ve lived here all my life, tell me where you want to get to and I can show you.”  
This seemed to calm Phil down a bit, and he began to lose his pink cheeks. “I’m trying to get to the Mirror Theatre, my mum said it was down here.”  
“It’s literally across the road,” Dan smiled. “Let me pay for these things, and I’ll walk you.” The more seconds that added on to his and Phil’s brief time together, the more Dan wanted to spend even more time with him.   
“That’s really not necessary.” Phil mumbled.   
“I’m heading back there anyway, we’re rehearsing. Wait, you’re not a techie are you?”   
“Yeah?” Phil followed Dan to the self-service checkout, where the machine kept not accepting that the items were in the bagging area.   
_“Please put item in the bagging area.”_ The annoying woman’s voice squeaked out of the machine.   
“It’s in the motherfucking bagging area,” Dan muttered, paying for the lunch and taking the items before anything else could happen.  
They left the shop and crossed to the theatre. “I think can find my way from here.” Phil said, embarrassed that Dan had had to show him across the road.

“It’s okay, we’re in the middle of rehearsals, and Kat said you’d be arriving at lunchtime, so I don’t think you’re late.” Dan pushed opened the theatre door and Phil followed him in.   
“Wait, is this what I heard you practising in your room yesterday?”   
“Yep,” They arrived at the stage, where Sam and Lucy were deep in conversation. “Oi, dildos.” Dan said to get their attention.   
“You bought lunch?” Sam asked, not noticing Phil, who was slunk back behind Dan.   
“Yeah, and the new techie, who also happens to be my new neighbour.” Dan stood back, so Sam and Lucy could see him.   
“Hey, I’m Phil.” He said a little nervously.   
“This is Lucy,” Dan introduced, throwing the wrap at her and the bagel at Sam. “She’s our Alice, and expert on all things sporty.”  
“Like literally none of us know shit about sport.” Sam said, mouthful of bagel.   
“And this is Sam, our wonderful Cheshire cat and-” Dan was interrupted.   
“Reigning champion of the show Olympics.” Sam said, looking very pleased with himself.   
Phil looked confused and turned to Dan for guidance. “The what?”  
Dan jumped up onto the stage, and gestured for Phil to join him. “They’re the competitions we hold during every run we do. Sam won over Christmas, and Lucy won last summer, so now it’s time for me to get what is rightfully mine. If you want, you can take part, the whole cast normally does, but none of them quite know the theatre like we do. Some of the crew have ago, but they all seemed to drop out early. Maybe you’ll be the first to at least make it to the end, but I won’t let you win.” _‘Even though I think you’re cute’_ Dan thought to himself, slightly accidently and he surprised himself with it.   
“I’m sure I’m no match for the veterans.” Phil shrugged and blushed a little. He seemed to be doing that a lot Dan noticed, but thought nothing of it until that evening when they were walking back home after a pretty smooth rehearsal.

It was a chilly April evening and Dan hadn’t brought a jacket, thinking, like he always did, that it wouldn’t be that cold. As they walked together, talking about Phil’s past, and how he’d moved down from Manchester because of his mum’s job, but he’d had to leave all his friends behind, Dan realised how undeniably cold it was. He shivered violently, and kept rubbing his arms whilst Phil talked about how he was kinda nervous about starting a new school on Monday.   
“I just hope people like me,” He said, talking into the distance. “Dan? Are you alright?”  
“I…I’m…f…fi…fine.” His teeth chattered as he spoke.   
“Do you want a jacket? I’ve got like two jumpers on and I’m warm enough.”   
Taken aback a little, Dan didn’t quite know what to say. It should have been him giving his jacket to a girl on their date, not their new neighbour giving him his jacket because Dan had been too ignorant to bring one.   
“Here, have it.” Phil pulled off his red coat and handed it to Dan, who eventually took it and pulled it on.   
“Thanks, so you were saying about starting at Forrest?” Forrest was the school in the area, and the one Dan, Sam and Lucy all attended.   
“Yeah, I don’t want to stand out and not have any friends.” Phil blushed again, but Dan could sense the worry in him.   
“It’s alright, you’ve got me.” Dan out an arm around Phil’s shoulder to show his friendship, but Dan could feel an unfamiliar feeling of affection and he pulled his arm away quickly.   
“Thanks, that means a lot,” They reached home and went up their separate drives. “See you around?” Phil said just before disappearing behind the fence.   
“Yeah.” Dan replied, but he wasn’t sure Phil heard him.

Dan got upstairs and suddenly he realised he still had Phil’s jacket on. Part of him wanted to return it now, but a larger part wanted to keep it until Phil specifically asked for it back.   
So he kept it.   
Dan then lay on his bed, hands behind his head, trying to decipher his feelings for Phil. He could tell that it was more than friendship, but he didn’t know if he was gay. That was the major issue he was facing. He didn’t think he was, but yet, the way that he had put his arm around him, the way that he nearly called him cute and the general affection he seem to feel towards Phil made him wonder. His thoughts ran away with him and soon he was asleep.


	2. The New Kid

_Monday – Phil’s first day at Forrest School_

“How are rehearsals going?” Jo asked Dan as they walked into form together. Jo was one of Dan’s non-theatre related friends.   
“Well, we’ve only had one, so I don’t know really,” His eyes scanned the room for Phil, who could have been put in his form, but he wasn’t there. “But we have new neighbours, the kid is the new techie and he’s going to be in our year.”   
“What’s his name?” Jo asked, sitting on the table.   
“Phil,” Dan said, possibly a little too quickly, but Jo didn’t seem to notice. “He’s nice, but kinda shy.”   
The door opened and their tutor walked in, closely followed by a black haired boy who Dan recognised to be Phil. They made eye contact and Dan smiled to reassure him.   
“Hi guys, I hope you had a good weekend,” There was a collective groan from the class, because all of them had exams over the next few weeks so they had spent most of it revising. “This is Phil, he’s just moved here from Manchester.” Mr Wakeman said, gesturing for Phil to introduce himself.   
“Is that him?” Jo whispered to Dan, who nodded.   
Phil looked taken aback, but he caught Dan’s eye and felt some kind of calm that came with the dark eyes he suddenly found himself gazing into. “Hi, I’m Phil.” He smiled nervously and shuffled a little.   
“Why don’t you sit with…?” Mr Wakeman looked around the room for someone welcoming, but Dan got there first.   
“He can sit with us.” Dan said, again very quickly, getting a very confused look from Jo.   
“Oh okay, Phil, go sit with Dan, and Jo, who would kindly get off the table now, The teacher said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. “Actually have either of you seen Sam or Lucy? They’re going to be late again.”  
“Nope.” Dan replied, as Phil sat down on the empty chair next to him.   
“I think they’re dating,” Jo said, jumping off the table and pulling up another chair. “They’ve been late for like the last week and they always arrive together.”  
Now that she brought it up, Dan did notice the funny behaviour they’d been showing at rehearsals. “Really? You think?”  
“Uh huh,” She nodded. “Sorry, I’m Jo, short for Joanna, but I hate it.” She introduced herself to Phil who had been sitting slightly awkwardly next to Dan.   
“Hey.” He said, looking down into the floor.   
“Phil?” Dan asked, a sudden sense of parental caring coming over him. “You’re going to be fine. She’d nice. We’re all nice. Except from Kieran, who’s a dick and you should probably try to stay out of his way.”  
“Great, everyone’s nice except the one person who I have no idea who he is.” Sarcastically Phil replied.   
“Okay fine, stick with me, Jo and the others, whenever they arrive,” And as if on cue, Sam and Lucy burst into the room looking slightly flustered and ruffled. “Speak of the devils.”   
“Talking about us were you?” Sam dropped his bag on the floor and pulled up a spare chair. Lucy did the same with her bag but couldn’t see any spare chairs and looked around wildly. “Here, share with me.” Sam said, shuffling over so there was space for her.   
Dan, Phil and Jo all made eye contact at the same time and burst into fits of laughter.   
“What?” Lucy snapped, scowling at all of them.   
“Nothing, nothing.” Jo muttered, suppressing giggles.   
Although the laughter had irritated Sam and Lucy, it broke the ice between Phil and the rest of them. Suddenly Dan felt like he had known Phil forever and could tell him anything he wanted. He lingered on this emotion for a while too long, and his thoughts flew away with him again.   
He found himself gazing at Phil, thinking about all the things they could talk about together. How Dan knew nothing about Phil’s taste in music, or films or books; how Phil knew nothing about Dan’s love of theatre. Dan realised he didn’t know if Phil loved anything as much as Dan loved theatre. But as he got lost in his own thoughts, Dan didn’t realise that a) the bell had gone and they had to get to maths and b) Phil had found himself staring back at Dan.   
“Oi! You two! It’s maths.” Lucy called, pulling them both out of a trance. “Don’t want to be late.”  
“Yeah says you.” Dan retorted sarcastically, but his mind was still glued onto Phil and all the things he didn’t know about him.  

For the rest of the day, Dan's thoughts were on Phil. In the lessons they shared, he spent more time gazing at Phil than he did staring at the board. In the lessons Dan had alone, his mind painted scenarios and conversations he wanted to have with   Phil. By the end of the day, Dan had thought about Phil so much that when they had to walk home together, Dan could barely keep himself together. 

"So what kind of things are you into, other than acting?" Phil asked him as they walked home.

"I...I don't know." Dan stammered, barely forming a sentence, but he took a deep breath and continued. "I mean, theatre has been my entire life since I was little, it's where I find my element and what I couldn't live without. I remember last summer, we went away for three weeks to Canada and I had to miss three weeks of drama. I barely kept myself together." 

"Wow," Phil looked at him amazed. "That's insane, so you're not like into much else." 

"Not really, I love a good film and stuff, but theatre is my real love. I haven't even had time to have any girlfriends." 'Or boyfriends' He nearly added subconsciously. 

"What about people from the theatre?" Phil asked, his voice had some suggestion in its tone. 

"They change every show, apart from myself, Lucy and Sam, who as you have seen are in each other's pants."  Dan raised his eyebrows and slightly, very slightly, wishing he could get into Phil’s pants but that’s another story. “But we need some fresh blood. We need more people to stay, cause at the end of this year I’ve got to quit.”   
“Why?”  
Dan hadn’t told anyone but his parents and brother, but he’d been offered a place to tour with a professional theatre company on their production of Blood Brothers.   
“I won’t have time anymore, with exams and things.” He lied, not wanting to tell Phil the truth.   
They reached home and spilt into their own houses, but just before he disappeared from view, Dan caught a sneaky glimpse of Phil’s butt. Of course he immediately looked away, but he was beginning to realise that actually, he did like _like_ Phil, and actually he kinda did a little bit have a teeny weeny crush on him.


	3. The Imaginary Audience

He lay on his bed practising his lines, going over and over them, until they were cemented in his brain. It was just habit to him and he could learn an entire play in a week. But soon his mind wandered to the rehearsal and having Phil watching him the whole time and how he remembered he had tried to show off to Phil. Had he tried to hard? He didn’t think, and no one else seemed to notice. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that what if Phil wouldn’t, couldn’t or didn’t like him back, and that worried him, because he realised that he would be in for the first heart break of his life if he fell for Phil.   
“Dan?” He heard a quiet voice from outside.   
“Phil?” Dan scrambled to his window, and saw Phil’s leaning out. The houses were close enough together to have a conversation without shouting, but they were too far apart to easily get into each other’s rooms.

“What time is rehearsal tonight?”   
“Six thirty, like always on weekdays, but you wouldn’t know that because you’ve only just moved here.” Dan corrected himself halfway through his sentence.   
“Great thanks.” Phil turned to leave but Dan called to stop him from going.   
“Stay, I’d like to talk.” Dan had nothing to talk about but he just loved hearing Phil talk and hearing his northern accent show through in some words.   
“Okay, but why don’t I come over?” Phil suggested, lifting Dan’s spirits to the roof.   
“Sure, the door’s unlocked.”   
“Nah, I want to see if I can make this.” Phil lifted himself up onto the window sill, and sat with his legs dangling over the hedge that separate their gardens.   
“Really?” Dan rolled his eyes, but he didn’t want Phil to fall and hurt himself.   
“Yeah, I was a silver medal gymnast in year four.” Now he was stood on the ledge, ready to step across to Dan’s window.   
“Okay fine, but if you fall it’s not my fault.” Dan pushed his windows as wide as they would go and watched Phil judge the distance. He held onto the outside of the window and stretched his leg across, so he was straddling the gap.   
“Halfway there.” Dan said, reaching his arms out to catch Phil.   
Phil quickly switched his arms from his window to Dan’s and swung his other leg in, but in doing so, his momentum brought him too far forward and they found themselves lying one of top of the other on Dan’s floor, in a slightly awkward silence.   
“Well,” Phil said, getting up and blushing. “At least I can make it.”   
“Yeah.” Dan stood up too, looking anywhere but Phil.   
Phil suddenly became aware of his surroundings and the contents of Dan’s room. His walls were covered with theatre posters and tickets for shows. Some posters were signed, others were framed to keep them in good condition. The front of his wardrobe was covered in all the tickets from every show he’d ever been to see.   
The wall above his bed was different though, although it had posters, these were different.   
“These are..?” Phil asked, pointing up at them.   
“Every show I’ve ever been in that had a poster,” Dan stood on his bed and pointed out a few. “Mary Poppins, the first paying audience; Midsummer Night’s Dream, first professional cast; West Side Story, first on stage kiss. Now that was awkward.” Now Dan was talking about theatre, the awkwardness from earlier has dissolved.   
“Dan there are twenty six up here!” Phil exclaimed suddenly, after counting them.   
“Yeah, I’d like to make it to thirty but I don’t know,” He dropped onto the bed and gestured for Phil to join him. “What about you though? Who are your posters of?” Dan prompted.   
“This sounds really stupid after yours, but mine of all of bands and TV shows and films.” Phil laughed it off a little.   
“What’s wrong with that?”   
“Let’s put this into perspective,” Phil said. “Imagine you’ve just met someone really great and you really like them and you go to school with them and you’ve started to get along really well.”  
“Right.” Dan was imagining this situation very well, considering he could tell that Phil was probably talking about them.   
“Well, imagine they’re like a god in their area and you’re just a sad little techie nerd, it’s not great if you bring them over and Buffy is staring at them from the ceiling is it?”   
“I’m sure I wouldn’t mind that.” Dan blurted out, and went a vibrant red glow. “I mean…platonically of course.”   
“Uh huh…” Phil nodded sarcastically. “And anyway, I might not have been talking about you.”   
“Who else is like a god in their area?” Dan’s confidence was back, along with his bragging rights.   
“Okay well, excuse my poor little peasant self around such authority.” Phil joked, leaning into Dan a little.   
“I suppose some peasants I shall have to keep.” Dan could feel Phil’s shoulder gently resting on his, but he didn’t move it.   
Gradually, they got closer and closer together, until Phil’s head was almost in Dan’s lap. They sat in silence for a while, just listening to each other’s breathing until Dan’s mum burst in the room and Phil sat upright.   
“Dan, can you-oh, hello you’re..?” She asked, looking at Phil.   
“Phil from next door, we just moved here.”  
“Oh yeah, I remember meeting you when you came to look at the house. Hi, I’m Julie, Dan’s mum and actor taxi service. Speaking of which, haven’t you got a rehearsal in half an hour?” Dan’s eye flicked to the clock and he suddenly realised how late it had gotten.   
“Yeah. I need to get changed.” He was still in his uniform and turning up to rehearsal in that would not be good. Phil was already changed and had no reason to go.   
Dan stood up and shooed his mum out the room so he could get changed. “Don’t look.” Dan said as he pulled off his shirt and tie.

Phil squashed his face into Dan’s pillow whilst he changed. “I don’t want my eyes to burn.”   
“Rude.” Dan muttered, pulling on a black top and black skinny jeans. Once he was changed he realised how similar it was to Phil’s current attire – black skinny jeans and a dark purple t-shirt.   
“We look like twins.” Dan said and Phil rolled over so he could see Dan.    
“Your fringe is on the other side.” Phil said, standing up and brushing Dan’s hair out his eyes. The tension in the room suddenly became stifling, and Dan could feel his heart thudding in his chest, he could feel Phil’s warm breath on his face and his eyes stared into Phil’s glittery blue ones. The tension between them became too much for Dan and he pulled away, knowing that if he’d stayed there any longer he would have done something he would regret for years to come.

“We…erm…better go.”   
“Yeah.” Phil replied quietly, looking a little downtrodden.

Phil followed Dan downstairs, who quickly pulled on a pair of vans and they left. “I better text my mum to tell her I’ve gone to rehearsal.” Phil pulled out his phone and texted whilst they walked.   
  
They walked in silence for a while, until Dan had to get something off his chest. “So what’s the deal with you Phil?”   
“What do you mean?”  
“I barely know anything about you except that you like Buffy.” Dan shrugged, but he really wanted to know whether Phil was straight or not. He had decided that he probably had a crush on Phil and was just going with it until further notice.   
“Well, I make videos, like for YouTube?”   
“Oh that’s cool.” Yeah, it was cool, Dan thought, but that wasn’t what he really wanted to know. “On your own or with friends?” Dan prompted, wanting an answer to a question he hadn’t even asked.   
“I do some of them with friends, but they’re all up in Manchester now, and I haven’t really had a chance to make any videos because my camera and tripod are in a box somewhere.”   
Dan was so close to bursting out ‘are you gay or not?!’ but he held it in and made conversation, which to be honest, wasn’t difficult because he and Phil just got along like they had known each other their entire lives. “What are they about?”   
Phil shrugged, “I just kinda talk to a camera about whatever’s happened to me recently and if it’s interesting then I’ll keep it in the final cut. I also do some challenges and tags, but they’re better with other people.”  
“I wouldn’t mind being in your videos, if you ever needed an extra pair of hands.” Dan suggested, just as they reached the theatre.   



	4. Performing To No One

There was no one there when they got there, but Dan was often the first and could often be found rehearsing part alone. He found comfort in an empty theatre, and it was where he went to clear his head (he was the only youth theatre member with keys to the back entrance and could let himself in anytime) and he just loved seeing empty stage and seats knowing that they would soon be filled with actors creating new worlds around them and an audience being invited into those worlds.   
He climbed up onto the stage, and pulled Phil up. “To be or not to be!” Dan projected across the cavernous room. He stood in the middle of the stage and addressed an empty audience. “Is this a dagger I see before me?” He turned to Phil, “You have a go, it’s kinda fun.”   
“No no no no.” Phil mumbled, blushing again.   
“Why not?”   
“I’ve never performed on stage.” Phil was so embarrassed.   
“Really? Wow, that’s so surprising. Not even in a school play?”  
“Nope, I was always in the choir, or-”  
Dan cut him off, “So you can sing?” He asked, hoping he would get to hear Phil’s voice.   
“Not at all.”  
“Sucks, but just say something, project to an imaginary audience.” Dan gestured to the empty seats, and stepped out of the way so Phil could take centre stage.   
“No!” Phil objected, but Dan had pulled massive puppy dog eyes and Phil found himself unable to resist. “Okay fine. “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” He called into the empty cavernous room, then turned to Dan for approval.   
“That’s it?” Dan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms sarcastically. “But I’ll be your Juliet.” He blurted out, blushing a vivid shade of red. He looked at the floor and fidgeted, not seeing Phil walk over to him.

“As long as we didn’t have to go through the whole family feud and death parts I’d be happy with that.” He placed a hand on Dan’s soft cheek and lifted his head up so he could look at him properly. Dan was overwhelmed with energy and excitement of feeling Phil’s cold hand on his cheek and that Phil liked him back. For a moment it seemed like Phil was going to kiss him, but the theatre doors burst open and Sam and Lucy came through them laughing and holding hands.   
  
Dan and Phil pulled away from each other quickly, Phil looking moderately awkward and Dan trying not to make eye contact again.

“Oh shit.” Sam exclaimed, seeing Dan and Phil on the stage.   
“Oh shit what?” Lucy said, not seeing them yet. “Oh shit.” She looked up at Dan who raised his eyebrows at their joined hands.   
“How long?” Dan shook his head as Sam and Lucy joined them on stage.   
“’Bout a month.” Lucy shrugged, letting go of Sam.   
“Month and a half.” Sam mouthed to Dan who fell into fits of giggles and unfortunately caught Phil’s eye suddenly he burst into badly stifled laughter.   
“Please don’t tell anyone.” Lucy whined.   
“I don’t really think they need telling!” Dan spluttered through laughter.   
“Was it that obvious?”   
“The whole arriving later together thing was a bit cliché,” Phil said. “And I met you like two days ago and I even I noticed.”  
“And you kept making me get lunch on all day rehearsals.” Dan scoffed.   
“Oh shit. Does Jo know?”   
“Yeah.”

 

They started setting up for rehearsals as they continued their conversation. It ran from Sam and Lucy’s newly announced relationship, to Phil and what it was like up north. Finally Kat arrived with the rest of the cast, and they got to start practising.   
Phil sat on the side of the stage, making notes about possible lighting, sounds and effects they could use. Dan could feel Phil’s eyes on him throughout most of the rehearsal and he desperately wanted just to leave with him straight away and for the first time he could remember, Dan wanted to leave a theatre.   
Finally, after two and a half hours of the worst rehearsal Dan had been to in his entire life, Kat called it and they finally got to head home.

Dan thought it was going to be better walking home alone with Phil but it turned out to be the most awkward situation he’d ever been in. They both wanted to say something, but neither of them knew what to say. The words were right on the tip of Dan’s tongue, but he didn’t know how to form a sentence. SO he was grateful when Phil spoke first.   
“So, erm, I didn’t know you were-”  
“I didn’t know you were either.”   
“I didn’t really want to tell you, ‘cause I kinda had a crush on you from the first day I heard you practising those lines.”  
“That was like three days ago, but the same thing happened to me.” Admitted Dan, finally feeling he was able to open up to Phil.   
“So, are you out to your parents or what?”   
“I don’t even think I’m out to myself yet.” Dan shrugged, but it was true, he didn’t really know how he would describe himself yet.

“Oh okay,” Phil paused thinking for a moment. “Do you want to like, go the cinema on Friday?” He finished nervously.   


“Like on a date?” Dan raised his eyebrows and they turned into their street.   
“If you like.”   
“I think I’d like that.”   
“What time?” Phil was so nervous, trying to ask Dan out like this, and Dan could sense it in his voice.   
“Phil, a) we could plan this without leaving our rooms, b) I see you at school every day and c) it’s only Monday we have ‘till the end of the week, don’t worry.”   
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.” They stopped outside their respective houses, and stood a little unsure of what to do next.   
“Well, I better get inside.” Dan shuffled to his front door, before taking a fleeting look at Phil who smiled with a new sense of excitement in his face.

 

As Dan tried to get to sleep that night, he found himself thinking about the near-kiss with Phil and how he had wished that Sam and Lucy hadn’t burst in at the wrong moment. He realised that he was more ready for it than he had thought at the time. Gradually, he dozed off with thoughts of Phil in his head.

  
When Dan arrived at school the next morning, Phil was already there and deep in conversation with Jo about something. As Dan approached they stopped talking abruptly and looked sheepishly at each other.   
“Hey?” Dan asked, sitting down. “I’d ask what you were talking about but I don’t think you’ll tell me.”  
“Oh, no I thought you were Sam.” Jo shrugged.   
“So…what’s the gossip?”   
“I was just saying about Sam and Lucy or…” Phil paused for a moment. “Slucy?”   
Dan snorted sarcastically and realised he had been staring at Phil since he had arrived. “Lam?”   
“I like Slucy.” Jo replied, giggling.   
“Who’s Slucy?” Sam appeared behind them, making them all jump in surprise.   
“No one.” Dan wheezed out, mid laugh.   
“Oh come off it you guys, I know Dan and Phil know and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of you has already told her.” Sam sighed, leaning on the table opposite them.   
“Okay fine.”  
Lucy arrived moments later, with a few other people from their class and Sam muttered to her. “They all know.”   
She sighed, but smiled, relieved to not have to keep it secret anymore.


End file.
